Abstract: This paper is based on a socialwork intervention with an Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) case in a mental hospital in Guangzhou. With the method of “alternative lens” developed in drama and theater research, the readers will be guided to observe the space and power construction in a mental hospital, to see the hospital as the “total institution” under the experts’ power control, and to get the basics of the characteristics and importance of the daily life practices in such a total institution. The fragmented daily life that has survived the total control is not only the space for the hospitalized patients with mental disorders in rehabilitation to display their identity but also an ideal space for social workers to display theirs and to accept cases. Furthermore, this also makes it possible to explore the possibility of empowering the clients in daily life practices. Through reflecting upon the challenges and resistance encountered during the initial establishment of a professional relationship with the patient in the case, the authors recognized the meaningfulness of the client’s resistance, the power of the identity itself, the possibility of potential empowerment, and the significance of daily life practices to social workers’ acceptance of the client. There are two insightful points. First, there is tension between the identity in daily life practices and the power, which may lead to the individual challenging or defying the existing regulations and restrictions. Second, Social workers, when having gotten the first point, should be good at stimulating the individual’s identity in order to get his or her selfidentification and selfacceptance. The authors’ concept of empowerment through daily life practices summarizes the individual actions illustrated in the first point and also is the expectation and demand of the roles taken on by social workers.

Key words: everyday life, micro struggles, empowerment, patients with mental disorders, social work